DIY

Posts taggedwith DIY

Grant Thompson of the King of Random just shared a great tutorial on how to make completely edible gummy LEGO bricks and figures using a mixture of corn syrup, Jello, and gelatin. Using the right molds, the pieces are so precise you can actually build with them. Unlike the chocolate LEGO bricks we featured a few months ago, these look somewhat simple to make. (via The Awesomer)

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First off: language warning for the kiddos. Stop-motion animator Dillon Markey works on projects for animation powerhouses like Robot Chicken and PES. While on set three years ago Markey tired of moving back and forth between the set, camera, and computers for each shot and conceived of a numerical keypad he could use to help control some, if not all, of the devices he uses for animating.

In a stroke of nostalgic brilliance, he realized Nintendo’s failed 1980 Power Glove—a wearable device that was supposed to offer novel ways of controlling video games—possessed the form factor he needed. While the Power Glove itself was a commercial flop because of imprecise and awkward controls (not to mention crummy games), Markey teamed up with an electrical engineer to completely rewire the device so it could interact with his stop-motion software via Bluetooth. In a move that would make Inspector Gadget proud, he further modified the glove to incorporate animation tools like retractable tweezers and special sensors that emit the perfect phrase when you use the glove for a fist-bump.

One would think such modifications would be interesting for the purpose of making a quick concept video like this, but that in practical application it might not really work. Not the case: he’s now used it for over 1.5 years on projects like this. It makes you wonder what other outmoded technology had the right form factor but wrong application? Film by Ava Benjamin.

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Apropos of I’m on a diet and am also a masochist, Brooklyn-based baker Alana Jones-Mann has a sweet DIY article on how to make cupcakes that look like common miniature cacti. It turns out all you need is mass quantities of tasty, tasty frosting (because why does anyone eat a cupcake anyway), green food coloring, and an unreasonable amount of baking talent. If you liked this, you might also like cakes that look like planets. (via Neatorama, Blazenfluff)

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The folks over at Shanks FX (previously) and PBS Digital Studios put together this great DIY video on how to make giant bubbles including some cool slow motion clips of enormous bubbles popping at night. They even invented a “bubble control wand” with an array of small fans. Another helpful tutorial is NightHawkInLight’s How to Make Giant Bubbles.

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A year ago I wrote about this amazing geometric paper torso designed by artist Horst Kiechle. At the time the piece wasn’t actually complete as he was still perfecting how all the organs fit together thanks to feedback he received online. At long last the model is done and Kiechle launched an extensivewebsite with free downloadable templates you can print and assemble along with photographed step-by-step instructions for every single piece. So now there’s no excuse to not spend the next three months of your life on this. Good luck!

In 2011 kinetic artists Mark Rosen and Wendy Marvel created a series of wonderful mechanical flipbooks based on the work of Eadweard Muybridge, the guy responsible for pioneering photographic studies of motion. After touring a few art galleries and making a well-received appearance at the 2012 Maker Faire the duo teamed up with manufacturing designer Steven Goldstein to create kits that mere mortals such as you and I can use to create nostalgic moving pictures of our own design. If you’re as ridiculously excited about this project as I am, head on over to Kickstarter to pledge a few bucks.